By Stephanie Sunata, Medill Reports

It sits about two miles above sea level on an icy shelf at the most southern part of the globe. It probes microwaves from the farthest points in space. It surveys the southern sky and scientists hope it will help answer some of the universe’s biggest questions.

The South Pole telescope is one of the pivotal tools scientists use to study the universe. It explores the enigmas of dark energy and was the topic of cosmologist John Carlstrom’s recent public presentation at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Continue reading “The Big Bang – View from the South Pole”

By Ted Gregory, Chicago Tribune

Originally published at: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-10-10/news/ct-met-picasso-csi-20121010_1_picasso-pieces-paint-art-institute

Some call the collaboration between the Art Institute and Argonne National Laboratory “Picasso CSI.”

It lacks a heart-pounding chase scene of a TV drama, though, and nothing explodes in flames. But there is a love story, cutting-edge science and a piece of equipment likened to the gun of adventurer Lara Croft, tomb raider in a tight outfit. And there’s eBay.

The end remains unwritten, but the partnership has produced an answer to a heated topic that has vexed the art world for decades: Pablo Picasso was the first artist to use common house paint in his work and spread that practice widely, Argonne said.

Continue reading “Physicists and X-ray help solve Picasso mystery”